2017 (1) TMI 453 - AT - Income Tax

Trust's Educational Activities Deemed Charitable for Tax Exemption

Quality Circle Forum of India Versus Dy. Director of Income-tax, Exemptions – III, Hyderabad

The Tribunal allowed the appeal, directing the Assessing Officer to grant exemption u/s 11 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the trust for AY 2011-12. It ... Rejection of claim of exemption u/s 11 on the basis of proviso to section 2(15) - Assessee is carrying on education and training activities - charging of fees - Held that:- As decided in assessee's own case for AY 2010-11 mere charging of fees for carrying activities will not loose the character of charity and in this case, the department has already granted registration treating the activities as charitable but has not declared under which activity whether under education or general public utility. From the assessment order, the assessee has charged fee to various activities like seminars, participation fees of participants shows that assessee had engaged in some sort of lectures/training relating to the objects of the trust i.e. education and training to the bottom line employees in quality and improvement methods. It was not controverted by the department. It was only objected to charging of fees. In our considered view, the assessee has carried on the activities of imparting training to the bottom line employees and there is no element of profit in the said activity as the surplus generated out of the activities is again applied for the charitable activity only. Moreover, the assessee quoted various case laws in support of its claim that they are in the field of education. When analysed closely, all the institutions i.e. Ahmadabad Management Association, ICAI, Peter’s education society, are educating people more on structured manner and acknowledging by issuing proper certificates. In the present case, we are not sure if such activities are being carried on by the assessee. We are not inclined to adjudicate whether they fall into education activities in the absence of relevant material before us. However, assessee is imparting training to the bottom like employees, which may be similar to education. Hence, in our view, the assessee is involved in carrying on of charitable activities and not in any commercial activities as held by the AO. Thus, AO cannot deny the benefit u/s 11 of the Act. - Decided in favour of assessee Issues involved:- Exemption u/s 11 of the Income-tax Act, 1961- Rejection of exemption claim based on proviso to section 2(15)- Disallowance of depreciationAnalysis:Exemption u/s 11:The appeal was filed against the Commissioner of Income-tax(A) - 9's order rejecting the exemption claim u/s 11 for AY 2011-12. The Assessing Officer assessed the total income by adding excess income over expenditure and disallowing depreciation. The CIT(A) confirmed the AO's action, leading to the appeal before the ITAT Hyderabad. The assessee contended that it was engaged in education and training activities falling under section 2(15) of the Act. The Tribunal noted that the trust had been functioning since 1982 and enjoyed exemption u/s 11 without any change in objectives or activities. Referring to relevant case laws, the Tribunal held that charging fees for activities did not negate the charitable nature of the trust. It was observed that the assessee was involved in imparting training to employees, akin to educational activities, and the surplus generated was applied for charitable purposes. The Tribunal concluded that the assessee was engaged in charitable activities and not commercial activities, directing the AO to allow the exemption claim u/s 11.Disallowance of Depreciation:Regarding the disallowance of depreciation, the Tribunal directed the AO to compute the assessee's depreciation claim in accordance with the allowed exemption u/s 11. Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was allowed based on the Tribunal's findings and conclusions drawn from the previous year's case. The judgment emphasized the charitable nature of the trust's activities and the application of surplus for charitable purposes. The Tribunal's decision highlighted the distinction between educational activities and commercial activities, affirming the assessee's eligibility for exemption u/s 11.